West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. $WST Shares Acquired by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE:WST) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 63,254 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,474 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in West Pharmaceutical Services were worth $17,404,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.7% during the third quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 1,091 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 3.5% during the third quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $333,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Darwin Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Darwin Wealth Management LLC now owns 410 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 2.2% during the third quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $586,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Faithward Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of West Pharmaceutical Services by 0.4% during the third quarter. Faithward Advisors LLC now owns 11,855 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,110,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at West Pharmaceutical Services

In other West Pharmaceutical Services news, VP Annette F. Favorite sold 2,817 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.20, for a total transaction of $859,748.40. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 16,828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,135,905.60. The trade was a 14.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Chad Winters sold 896 shares of West Pharmaceutical Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.67, for a total transaction of $269,400.32. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 1,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $457,920.41. The trade was a 37.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

West Pharmaceutical Services Trading Up 0.5%

West Pharmaceutical Services stock opened at $305.35 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.71. The firm has a market cap of $21.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.17. West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $203.74 and a 1 year high of $330.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $272.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $265.75.

West Pharmaceutical Services (NYSE:WST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $844.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $779.68 million. West Pharmaceutical Services had a net margin of 16.85% and a return on equity of 19.03%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.45 earnings per share. West Pharmaceutical Services has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.750 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.050-2.120 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. will post 8.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

West Pharmaceutical Services declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, February 17th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical instruments supplier to repurchase up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on WST shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of West Pharmaceutical Services from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Morgan Stanley set a $315.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $340.00 price target on shares of West Pharmaceutical Services in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, West Pharmaceutical Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $322.89.

West Pharmaceutical Services Company Profile

West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc is a global developer and manufacturer of components, systems and services that enable the containment and delivery of injectable drugs. The company focuses on high-quality packaging and delivery solutions for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, producing primary drug packaging components and specialized drug delivery devices used for vaccines, biologics and other injectable therapies. West is known for its elastomeric closures, seals and polymer components that maintain sterility and compatibility with sensitive drug formulations.

In addition to component manufacturing, West provides engineered delivery systems and support services across the product lifecycle.